MiddBriefs

Author: Tom Brant and Akshay Khanna

Bunt garners distinction for outstanding teaching

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Rick Bunt is the 2007 recipient of the Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching, the College announced Friday.

The award is given each year to a faculty member in one of five departments: biology, chemistry, geology, physics, computer science or mathematics. The award consists of a plaque in Warner Hall and a grant for the support of further professional development.

"The Perkins family sends a great message with this award that Middlebury supports and values teaching," said Bunt. "It's obviously rewarding, and a bit humbling, to win such an award with so many outstanding teachers at Middlebury. I am honored and inspired."

Bunt joined the College's faculty in 1998, and holds degrees from Northwestern University and Stanford University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the chemistry department from 1996 to 1998.

While the purpose of the award is to honor outstanding teaching performance, Bunt has also done extensive research. Currently he is focusing on chemical reactions at the molecular level.

Bunt has received other grants in recent years, including awards from the National Institutes of Health and the Vermont Genetics Network. He has taught has taught courses on general and organic chemistry, as well as two first year seminars entitled "The Modern Age of Science" and "Science Risk, Reward and Public Policy."


Adirondack bike shop to offer lessons in repair

One of the more noticeable sights to great incoming first-years for the last few years have been the fluorescent bikes around campus. Known to students simply as the Yellow Bikes, this program was designed by the school to encourage students to bike around campus. However, due to the loss, or the state of disrepair, of many of the bicycles, one is hard-pressed to find a conveniently located yellow bike on which to ride to class in the morning.

To reignite a "culture of cycling" amongst the student body, Spencer Paxson '07, Hubert d'Autremont '08 and Cameron Kowall '09 have started a campus Bike Center in the basement of Adirondack House. According to d'Autremont, "The new shop is really in response to the failures of the Yellow Bike program."

Bike repair classes will be taught from Adirondack House Tuesdays through Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mechanics at the bike shop will not fix bikes for students but will rather teach bikers how to fix problems themselves.
"Being able to work on your bike is a good skill to have," said Paxson, "especially when you get stuck out in the middle of nowhere."

One of the main features of the center will be that students who attend the classes and learn to fix bikes will be able to pick out a bike from the set that are clipped at the end of the year, repair it and then keep it in return for their help with fixing other bikes. Additionally, d'Autremont also stressed that he hopes that "this place can be for people to really make their own. It will be a place for the cycling club to meet and for us to host other events out - we already had a VACA gallery opening in J-term - such as movies, etc."